We
are taking a challenging Irish step-dancing lesson with
Shawn Silver in his spacious idance studio on Hamilton
Avenue. Slender and lithe, with bright, long-lashed brown
eyes and dark curly hair, 39-year-old Silver is a whirlwind
of energy, who talks almost as fast as his feet go!

Shawn Silver with student dancersPhoto:
Doug & Morri

“Dancing is part of Newfoundland’s Celtic culture,”
explains Silver, jigging as he speaks. “It’s our language.
We’re famous for house parties, where everyone ends up
singing and dancing in the kitchen. Traditionally, the
women sing chin music – the dai, diggle-dee for the beat,
clapping for the rhythm – and a few dancers at a time jump
into the middle of the circle. In smaller Newfoundland
communities, everyone knows Irish rhythms. That’s their
entertainment.”

Painted ladies in downtown St. John’s.Photo: Doug & Morri

Yet, when Silver returned to his native St. John’s in 1998
after a 15-year career as a financial planner in Toronto,
he found no formal traditional Irish dance instruction.
Instead, he says, “people were tap dancing, clogging or
square dancing to Irish music.

“Traditional Irish dance has a specific form and body
posture. You’re high off the ground. It’s like an elite
sport, like running the Boston Marathon,” adds Silver, as
we gasp for air while straining to keep our chests lifted,
arms back and down, thighs turned out yet glued together as
we leap back and forth.

Silver has been dancing and performing since he was five.
While living in Toronto, he mastered and taught Cape
Breton-style Irish dance, then went on a mission to revive
traditional Irish dance in Newfoundland and Labrador. The
2002 Juno Awards held in St. John’s were the catalyst for
Silver. He was part of the show’s entertainment, which
showcased traditional Newfoundland songs and dances. By
then, Irish dance troupes like Riverdance and Lord of the
Dance had become international phenomena, and the Canadian
public reacted enthusiastically to Newfoundland’s
home-grown talent.

Irish dance revival
“There I was on TV, dancing my knees to stumps, but I
realized there was a misconception. Canadians assumed that
all Newfoundlanders knew how to do what I was doing. In
fact, no one in the province was certified in Irish dance.
Consequently, Newfoundlanders were excluded from Irish
dance competitions and had no link to the international
dance movement. “I wanted to help build that link,” adds
Silver, “so I went to the government and made my pitch: it
was time to bridge the gap and build on our rich dance
heritage.”

Silver received government cultural funding to spend two
months in Ireland training for certification with world
champion Irish dancers and members of the famed Riverdance
troupe. (He’s been to Ireland many times since and performs
with Riverdance dancers in Dublin from time to time.)
Silver now is the only dance instructor in the province
certified with the An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha,
the international Irish Dancing Commission headquartered in
Dublin, Ireland, which has been strictly regulating Irish
dance since the 1920s.

“Mine is the only Irish dance school in Newfoundland &
Labrador and I’m proud of it. My dancers and I are invited
to perform all over the province. People can compare what
we do with what they’ve seen in their grandpa’s living
room.”

Silver has invited Riverdance dancers to St. John’s to
teach workshops. When two-time World and All-Ireland
champion Stephen McAteer, from Toronto, was Silver’s guest,
Newfoundlanders and the media overwhelmed him.

“People were starved for this,” says Silver, who teaches 80
people a week, from three to 73 years of age. “They love it
because it’s part of their cultural upbringing. It just
takes a while to make your feet learn to move in a
percussive manner.” Last year, five public schools asked
Silver to teach Irish dance as an after-school program. Up
to 90 kids at a time would turn up for weekly two-hour
sessions. Many of them got hooked and are now regulars at
the idance studio.

As
a great promoter of show dancing, Silver gives his students
every opportunity to perform in public. He often takes
students to O’Reilly’s pub – “Irish music central,” says
Silver – on Sunday afternoons, where they present what
they’ve learned during the week: step dancing, reels, jigs,
rounds. “They’ve got to keep their toes pointed, their arms
back. They gain confidence. I’ve got three kids who were so
shy they wouldn’t dance in front of anyone. Now they’ll
dance before thousands and I can’t keep them off the
stage!”

This summer, Silver and his idance students are booked at
O’Reilly’s for two hours every Sunday afternoon, to show
tourists how it’s done, in a combination of performance and
lesson. “Irish dancing is about having fun. If you can get
the steps, brilliant!”

But no one need feel intimidated. Go to O’Reilly’s pub on
George St. any night of the week; the dance floor is jammed
the moment the Celtic band starts to play. You may find 18-
and 19-year olds step dancing, but others might be doing an
old-fashioned two-step, and some simply keep time any way
they can. On a Saturday night, head over to Bridie
Molloy’s, where “the cream of the musical crop” get
together for the love of Irish music.

Getting in touch with your inner Celt!
To fit right in on any Newfoundland dance floor – from pub
to kitchen –book, like we did, a 90-minute introductory
Irish dance class at idance, where Silver teaches “active
tourists and visitors” the one-two-threes, the quick sevens
and side steps of a treble reel, and the 6/8 timing of a
simple jig. “Once you learn the basics, you can dance to
any reel or jig you hear,” says Silver. “If I can teach you
just two steps, you can amaze people when you go home.”
Last summer, he taught more than 100 tourists in morning
and evening classes. “My phone was ringing off the hook!”

Silver sees himself as an ambassador for his beloved
province. “People come here for a cultural experience, for
our traditions, quality of life and sense of community.
This is a different and a special place. I want visitors to
experience who we really are. I want them to see our
icebergs and great scenery, of course, but I also want them
to go home with more than a t-shirt and a postcard. Through
movement and dance, they can take home an intangible piece
of ‘the Rock’ … a piece that connects them to an integral
part of our Newfoundland culture.

“There’s a magical quality to powerful Irish rhythms. When
you’re dancing well, you almost float; you feel connected
to something spiritual.”

By
the end of our class, we’re on a cardio high, glowing and
bedraggled, but thoroughly initiated into the spirit of the
dance!

Olé in St. John’s
With a population of only 173,000, the St. John’s
metropolitan area boasts an over-abundance of dance
schools, an indication of Newfoundlanders’ enthusiasm for
all things dance. More than a dozen schools teach styles
ranging from ballet, tap, jazz, modern and ballroom to,
yes, even flamenco!

“There’s something rudimentary and passionate about
flamenco that appeals to me,” says Gillian Marx, a
dedicated flamenco student, after performing a
sevillanas (a traditional partner dance) at The Gypsy
Tea Room, along with her instructor, the luminous,
29-year-old Jill Dreaddy, and four other dancers. Five
years ago, Dreaddy was moved to tears at a performance by
Evelyne Benais, whose troupe El Viento Flamenco developed a
devoted following in St. John’s in the ‘90s but decamped to
Halifax in 2001. Dreaddy studied with Benais for five years
and toured with troupe for two. Now, she has several dozen
flamenco students at her studio, Jill Dreaddy Danceco,
which also teaches Latin American, hip hop, ballet, jazz
and many other genres. To give her flamenco students more
opportunities to perform, Dreaddy plans to develop a troupe
of her own with musicians.

Visitors to the St. John’s area can drop in for a class
(flamenco or other) at her Conception Bay studio, or book a
private or group lesson.

The Gypsy Tea Room. This charming
restaurant-bar owned and operated by Emir Mahic, a handsome
Bosnian émigré, features an eclectic, multi-ethnic cuisine
deliciously executed at surprisingly reasonable prices.
After the kitchen closes, tables are pushed back and the
place rocks as dancers sway to a mainly Latin beat.
195 Water St., (709) 739-4766. Dining reservations
recommended.

Where to stay in St. John’sThe Fairmont Newfoundland.
This four-star hotel with all the amenities – full-service
business centres, fitness room, pool, etc. – is
conveniently located on a landmark site with breathtaking
views of Signal Hill, the harbour and the Narrows. 115
Cavendish Square, (709) 726-4980.

The Fairmont NewfoundlandPhoto: Doug & Morri

The Winterholme Heritage
Inn,
an opulent Queen Anne Revival-style mansion, has been
restored to its former 19th-century glory by its
congenial hosts, Ruby and Richard Cook. Fourteen rooms to
choose from including king and queen suites, with whirlpool
baths and working fireplaces. 79 Rennies Mill Road, (709)
739-7979